Ecuador
Masked Trogon
July 2004
The Masked Trogon (Trogon personatus) is a forest bird found in the Andes and isolated tepui highlands of northern and western South America. Its range extends from Venezuela and Colombia through Ecuador and Peru to Bolivia, with additional populations in Guyana and northern Brazil. It inhabits humid montane and subtropical evergreen forests, generally between approximately 2,300 and 11,800 feet (700 and 3,600 meters) above sea level.
Males and females have distinctly different plumage. Males have iridescent green, bronze, or golden-green upperparts, depending on the subspecies, with a red lower breast and belly separated by a narrow white band. Females are predominantly brown above, with a reddish or pinkish lower breast and belly. Masked Trogons often remain motionless on forest perches before flying to collect fruit or insects.
The species nests in cavities excavated in the soft wood of decaying tree trunks. Research in eastern Ecuador documented clutches of two white eggs and shared incubation by both sexes. At the studied nest, incubation lasted approximately 18 days, with the male attending mainly during the day and the female during the night. The Masked Trogon is currently classified as Least Concern, although its population trend is reported as decreasing.
